Given the recklessness with which some in Congress and the current administration are approaching trade issues, shrimp importers are fearful they could see a disaster that would have impacts across the entire US restaurant sector and retail sector.

There is a rider in the Senate Budget Bill, S.B. 1662, that if passed, would give the U.S. shrimp industry 30 days to meet new reporting requirements of the seafood import monitoring program. Currently Shrimp is exempted for the foreseeable future.

Shrimp is the country’s most popular seafood, with Americans eating on average over 4 lbs. of shrimp per person per year. Almost all of this shrimp, around 90%, is imported. This year Gulf landings are the second lowest in five years, around 93.4 million pounds through the end of November. Meanwhile, imports are at a record level of 1.3 billion pounds, with December’s imports not counted yet.

So the Gulf is producing about 7% of the total US shrimp supply.

In this environment, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran has introduced a rider in the Senate budget bill